Written by

The Tennessean

Restaurateur Kelly Black is moving his own Pie in the Sky Pizza on Lyle Avenue to make room for his new Music Row-themed restaurant, The Row Nashville.

“Pie in the Sky seems to work wherever we put it,” Black said. “It would be much harder to put this (new) concept somewhere else.”

The Row Nashville is a Southern style and singer/songwriter-friendly eatery, aiming to bring some of the history of the space back to life.

“It was a 30-year hangout for Music Row,” Black said. “We thought wouldn’t it be neat to bring back some of that history for insiders in the music industry.”

Black hired Iron Chef Nashville winner Garrett Pittler for the task.

“His mission is to make a menu that would delight songwriters and working-class poets — I always liked that description of songwriters,” Black said.

The separate lunch and dinner menus will feature “mix and match of flytes.” Such a flyte could include Southern white bean hummus, chicken pate and pimento cheese, or a dessert flyte of berry trifle, banana pudding and a chocolate dish.

“We’re really going for the best food we can make,” Black said. “But we’re dressing it down.”

Diners also can look forward to in-house pickles, house-cured bacon, deviled eggs, catfish, prime meatloaf, fried chicken and more. The restaurant also will have a full bar, with Southern regionals for all the drafts, bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and mixology.

Keeping with the theme, the restaurant will be singer-songwriter friendly, with a small stage for performers, a flaming sculpture of a guitar on the patio, and booths dedicated to distinguished songwriters.

“It’s all about execution,” Black said. “We feel like pulling out all the stops with our resources.”

The restaurant is set to open in March. It is located at 110 Lyle Ave.

While downtown Nashville will temporarily go without a Pie in the Sky, Black is currently searching for a new space for the pizza restaurant. Stay updated on the Pie in the Sky Midtown page on Facebook.